Intro and welcome

Hi Mark here. Ok this is the first post so a bit of background/scene setting/context, whatever you want to call it. Me; 41 in full time work (Mon-Fri) with 1 hour commute each way. Married, 3 children ages 6, 4 and almost 2, Life is busy and I want to invest time to improve my golf! Only golf day available is a Saturday as the wife works on Sundays. Love my family, golf and football. Bitten by the golf bug in my teens but "chose" not to take the opportunity to put time into it.

Golfing (lack of) Experience
Right. I first picked up a golf club (rented) in early teens at local pitch and putt course in the summer. I loved it immediately. I bought my first set of clubs at 18 yrs of age. Played sporadically (few times a year) till 23yrs of age when I joined a golf club (Naunton Downs, Gloucestershire). Played for about 18 months a couple of times a week, no practice or range work and had handicap of 21 and a power slice with the woods! I moved to Australia and did not play again on any regular basis till my late 30s (2008) when I joined a golf club again (Gungahlin Lakes, Canberra) - I bought clubs from a combination of eBay and a website in the US and I was off again - handed cards in got starting handicap of 28 (result!) which I got down to 19 in around 10 months playing regularly and in the evenings after work. I moved back to UK (Xmas 2009) and had to give it up again temporarily. Joined 9 hole course (Bearwood, Berkshire)  in summer of 2009 playing once a week - they accepted 19Hcp and I maintained it. We moved again in Spring 2010, and I joined current club in June 2010 - Chesfield Downs, North Herts (Great inland links style course) - similarly they accepted 19Hcp. Fluctuated from 19 to 20 and back down to 18 in that first season. So I went into 2011 with an 18 and finished with an 18 Hcp - whilst it was fun and bloody annoying at times I was just treading water! This was despite lots of research on articles, videos and whatnot. I bought a pack of 5 golf lessons with one of our Club Pros in that first year - I used 2 of them. I knew I wanted to improve but I wasn't committed to it, more sort of involved rather than committed. Its like the chicken and the pig in a bacon and eggs breakfast, the chicken is involved in it but the pig is committed, I was the chicken! So, just gone through the winter season of frost cold and rarely playing to Hcp, and mid January 2012 I thought to myself, 'you know what, Mark, lets be the pig and get committed to getting better'. I have had 2 lessons since, first on 23rd Feb and second this evening, more on that and the progress if any in the next post...

And finally, and most importantly, a huge thank you to my wife, my soulmate and partner for putting up and supporting my obsession, without which none of my golfing would be possible!

M